Loonie, gold, 300 index fall in tandem

Casting a shadow over the market, sellers outpaced buyers to knock 306.95 points off the TSE 300 index during the March 28-April 3 report period. The benchmark ended the week 4% lighter, at 7,444.38.

Perhaps the biggest news was the Canadian dollar’s precipitous drop to within a basis point of its record low, US63.31, on April 3. The loonie staged a comeback the following day, recouping 40 basis points by noon.

Gold had another bad week, slipping US$2 over the five trading days to a London morning fix of US$259.20 per oz. on April 4. Lease rates remained volatile, though an upward trend began to show.

Canada’s major producers were mixed, with Barrick Gold climbing 31 to $22.90 and Placer Dome climbing 47 to $14.19. Kinross Gold, on the other hand, slipped 4 to 76.

Campbell Resources, MSV Resources and GeoNova Explorations announced their intention to merge as a means to continue exploring the Chibougamau region of northern Quebec. The merger, spearheaded by Andre Fortier, who plays leading roles in all three companies, is expected to result in annual savings of $4.5 million. Nevertheless, Campbell fell 9 to 80, MSV dropped 4 to 12 and GeoNova slipped 3 to 5.

The biggest loser among Canada’s base metal producers was Inco, which crumbled $1.86 to $22.54 as the company confirmed that it received a draft remediation order stemming from a report prepared by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment regarding nickel levels at properties near its refinery operations in Port Colborne, Ont. The report concludes that nickel levels based on the sampling of 16 properties represent a possible health hazard and links these levels to the refinery’s historical operations. The issue is at the heart of a $750-million class-action suit launched by a group of Port Colborne residents in late March against the company and others.

Among the remaining base metal miners: Falconbridge was up 84 to $17.15; Sherritt International fell 7 to $4.23; Noranda was off a penny to $17.25; Teck‘s B shares rose 95 to $15.74; Cominco dropped 74 to $26; Boliden rose 2 to 67; and Breakwater Resources continued its slow decline, falling another 8 to $1.15.

Among juniors, Hope Bay Gold rose 7 to 46, while partner Miramar Mining edged ahead 10 to $1.20. Infill drilling at the Boston deposit, one of three comprising the Hope Bay gold joint venture in Nunavut, is confirming results obtained by previous owner BHP. Also, ongoing reverse-circulation drilling to the south, at the Domani and Miksa targets, is indicating additional gold mineralization.

Also in Nunavut, Cumberland Resources has begun a 4,000-metre drill program at its Meadowbank gold project. Drilling will test the higher-grade components of the newly outlined Vault deposit. Cumberland slipped 8 to 70 on light trading.